Running back Matt Forte and defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson are officially off the books, which means big savings for the Jets.

On Wednesday afternoon, Forte announced his retirement from football after two seasons in New York. Less than an hour later, ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news that the Jets would be releasing Wilkerson after a tumultuous and unproductive two seasons.

Update: Jets now have informed DL Mo Wilkerson of his release, per source.

Between the two departures, the Jets gained an additional $14 million in cap space — $11 million from the release of Wilkerson and $3 million from the retirement of Forte.

This leaves the Jets with a current total of $90,059,293 in salary cap space, according to Over The Cap. That’s plenty to work with in free agency. Add in the potential release of cornerback Buster Skrine and others, and the Jets could wind up with close to $100 million to work with this offseason.

It’s rare that any general manager gets to work with this much money at his disposal. Luckily, for Jets GM Mike Maccagnan, his team’s wealth couldn’t have come at a more fortunate time.

Now is the time for the Jets to go on a spending spree. They have numerous holes to fill and with an abundance of money at his disposal, this could be the offseason that Maccagnan finds the players to get New York back on the path to postseason success.

While Maccagnan admitted at his NFL combine press conference on Wednesday that the ideal way is to build through the draft, that doesn’t mean he won’t be ready to spend come March 14.

The opportunity is there. Now, it’s on Maccagnan to take advantage of New York’s riches.